Deer Resistant Plants That Attract Pollinators

Pollinator-Attracting Herbs, Vegetables and Flowers that Deer Avoid

Bee-friendly plants that repel deer? It sounds like a gardener’s dream. As it turns out, quite a large number of flowers, herbs, and even vegetables are deer resistant pollinator plants.

Gardeners and farmers who struggle against deer damage know how difficult it is to grow flowers, fruits, and vegetables with these voracious browsers about. At the same time, growers depend on bees, flower flies, butterflies and hummingbirds to pollinate farm and garden crops. If you select carefully, you can have both together: plants that attract pollinators and are also unpalatable to deer. (Article and plant list continue below slideshow.)

Prickly plants like globe thistle, globe artichoke (above), and cardoon resist deer and are tremendous attractors of bees, when in flower. Deer also usually avoid plants with thick, leathery or spiky textures.

Plants with fuzzy leaves and hairy stems such as cucumbers, squash, borage (above), and phacelia typically turn away deer. The tiny flowers of borage and phacelia are amazing attractors of bees.

Deer avoid strong-scented herbs and aromatic flowers. The strong fragrance of marigolds (above), lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile and other herbs can interfere with a deer’s sense of smell (which it relies on to detect danger).

While deer may nibble on new spring onion shoots or chives, flowers from leeks, onions and native alliums such as Nodding onion are generally deer-resistant. Leeks (above) and other allium flowers are beautiful, powerful attractors of bees.

Wildflowers, such as deer-resistant woolly sunflower (above), yarrow, and phacelia, co-evolved with pollinators for centuries. Native plants have co-relationships with specific bees and pollinators that protect diversity.

Blue, violet, white, and yellow flowers, such as salvia, lupine (above), alyssum, and zinnias are attractive to bees. Bees cannot see the colour red. They look for shallow or tubular plants with a landing platform.

Tiny clusters of flowers attract a variety of beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies, flower flies, ladybugs and parasitoid wasps, which pollinate and also prey on garden pests. Parsley, dill (above), and fennel are a prodigious draw for these beneficials.

Bright (especially violet or red) flowers, such as purple coneflower, delphinium, and cosmos (above) with wide landing pad areas attract butterflies. Hollyhocks and lupine host butterfly larvae and help support butterflies into adulthood.

Scarlet, red and orange tubular flowers such as columbine (above), comfrey and foxgloves attract hummingbirds. A hummingbird can access nectar from deep within the flower using its long narrow bill and tongue.

Yellow and white flowers, like calendula (above) are good attractors of flower flies (also known as hover flies or syrphid flies). Flower flies are valuable pollinators. Although they often look similar to wasps or bees (a mimicry they’ve developed to ward off predators), they do not sting.

Create a Deer Resistant Pollinator Garden

To create a deer resistant, pollinator attracting garden, you need to look at which plant characteristics draw pollinators and which traits repel deer.

Phacelia, a native wildflower, is a huge attractor of bees.

A pollinator-friendly garden includes:

– A succession of plants that provide pollen and nectar throughout the season
– Fragrant flowers
– Brightly coloured blooms
– Native wildflowers
– Clusters of flowers grown together
– Pesticide-free plants. These include plants that are free of systemic neonicotinoids (sometimes embedded in nursery seeds and starts). To avoid this, purchase plant starts from certified organic growers.

While plants with these characteristics deter deer, be aware that no garden without a high fence can be completely deer proof. Deer are browsers. This means they may sample almost anything, especially young tender shoots.

A Guide to Deer Resistant Pollinator Plants

Below is a list of deer resistant pollinator plants, including herbs, flowers and vegetables that attract bees, butterflies, flower flies, and hummingbirds to the garden. Plants that are sometimes vulnerable to deer damage are marked as “moderately deer resistant”.